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26 May 2007

At what point does a foot deformity affect sock toe shaping?

As I was knitting my argyle sock, I was thinking about sock toe shaping...you know, pointy toes versus square toes. Every knitter has an opinion about sock toe shaping, eh?

But what does a knitter do when a foot is downright deformed? At what point do you go the extra mile and, say, do short row shaping to accommodate a grotesque bunion?

Yes, that's my foot. The photos and descriptions only get worse, so get out now while you still have the chance! Run, don't walk!

OK, if you're still here, then let me ask you: As a knitter, do you have a bunion, and does it affect your sock toe shaping? And, perhaps more importantly, is said bunion insanely painful and have you had, or have you ever contemplated, surgery?

I have been told by the good doctor that I am a prime candidate for surgery. All they would do, he said, would be to "re-position" the big toe so it lays straight (not crooked as it is now).

I asked the doctor a direct question: I asked if this "re-positioning" requires breaking the bone, and he just looked at me, paused, and did not answer.

Then, he continued as if I hadn't said anything, they would additionally "chip away" the protruding bunion bone. And to top it off, they would shorten the index toe! Because, apparently, my freakishly long index toe is a result of the bunion. Who knew a doctor could shorten toes.

I am horrified. Simply horrified.

The above x-ray was taken with me in great pain, while the x-ray chick (who looked like she was sixteen) twisted me around like a contortionist.

Why do x-ray chicks always make you do that? Why can't we just lay the limb down flat and painlessly? I remember when I tripped off the London Tube and broke my arm, and the x-ray chick likewise made me twist my arm this way and that, which is just so painful when it's broken.

So, what to do? Do you have any suggestions for me? Every step I take causes pain, but then again, it's been that way for the past fifteen years. Would surgery be the answer to my dreams? Would it allow me to finally wear shoes other than sensible Dansko clogs and Birkenstocks?

I own, literally, five pairs of shoes. All black, all sensible, all painful. How nice it would be, if surgery were the answer to my dreams, how nice to finally be able to wear heels without wincing.

For me, the single biggest deterrent to surgery is not the images in my mind of the slicing and dicing but rather the long recovery. Apparently, I'm to be totally off my feet for a full two weeks. And just how am I supposed to do that when I live alone? I can't solve the logistics of that.

And, the good doctor says that I'm to stay home from work for six weeks for recovery. Now he's got to be kidding.

But the saddest thing of all is that the doctor says that I'll be unable to dance until possibly six months after surgery. Now that's what's really bothering me!